Halloween or Bust
by WackaGhoul
Summary: Dean decides to celebrate Halloween right this year, dragging Sam and Castiel along with him.


This is my first Supernatural story, so who knows how it turned out, lol. This is just a fun story. I was going through a haunted house the other day and thought it would be fun to send the boys through one. : )

Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural or anything Supernatural related, even though I would love to. This is all just for kicks and giggles.

Please read and review and Happy Halloween everyone!

* * *

"Dude Dean, this is stupid."

"You're stupid."

"Don't you get enough of this the rest of the year? A normal day for us is filled with all the real, non-plastic monsters, zombies and ghosts anyone could ever possibly want."

"Who smashed in your jack-o-lantern, Sammy?

"I just don't know why we're here," Sam grumped, crossing his arms.

"I agree," Castiel said, leaning forward from the back seat of the Impala, "I also fail to understand why my presence is required for this venture."

Dean parked the car, pointing a finger at Castiel. "You're here because your uptight angel ass needs to have a little fun." He turned to his brother and smirked, "You're here because I'm driving. Buck up, Nancy, it's Halloween! So, both of you, get out of my car, 'cause we're going in that haunted house."

Sam and Castiel watched as Dean exited the Impala and began walking towards the mock dilapidated building. The angel looked to the younger Winchester, "Has he always been like that?"

"Far as I know," Sam shrugged.

By the time they reached Dean, the elder Winchester had already bought their tickets. He handed one to Sam and Castiel as the three moved towards the end of an already long line. Castiel inspected the thin piece of paper he had been given.

"It's a ticket, Cass," Sam explained, "It's what gets you through the door."

"Oh," the angel replied. They passed a few moments in silence as Castiel continued to study the pass. "I believe these people have been horribly misinformed."

"Why? What?" Dean asked.

Castiel pointed at the top of his ticket, "The paper says this place is "Satan's House of Frightmares." Lucifer does not live in a house, nor does he own one." The angel looked up at the building, taking in the boarded up windows, pealing red paint and rickety front porch, "And, if he did, it would not be this well tended."

"It's just a scary name. All part of the Halloween experience." Dean answered, smiling. The angel continued to give him a bemused look, "You know, trick-or-treating and dressing up? Toilet papering people's houses and trees? Or egging them..." Dean trailed off, pausing nostalgically for a moment.

"But, why do humans come to these places?"

"People like to be scared."

"Dean, whenever I have observed a frightened human being, they do not seem to enjoy or like it."

"Okay... Well, people like to be scared when they know there's nothing to fear." Castiel stared at him blankly.

Sam sighed, "It's just a human thing, Cass. Don't worry about it."

"Yeah, don't try to think too much about this holiday. It doesn't make a damn bit of sense."

"It does actually. I mean, all of the traditions come from different religions and customs. Take jack-o-lanterns for example..."

"Don't geek out on me, Sammy," Dean interrupted, "I don't care that some dude in Ireland decided it'd be a good idea to carve a face into a potato. Or a Scottish guy poking holes in a turnip. Whichever it is."

"Both, and maybe Cass wanted to know."

But, Castiel was not paying any attention to the bickering Winchester. Instead, he was watching a cluster of kids standing a few people ahead of them in line. For no apparent reason, they were screaming at the top of their lungs in sporadic intervals.

"Are they alright?"

"No, they're kids," Dean answered absentmindedly, his gaze following four scantily clad women as they made their way to the ticket booth. "They won't be alright until they're at least twenty. Even then it's a toss up."

The trio passed their wait in silence after that, each consistently entertained by the eclectic multitude available for them to watch. Finally, they reached the front of the line and were greeted by a very bored, rather surly teenage girl.

"How many?" she asked in monotone, barely sparing them a glance.

"Three," Sam said, offering her a friendly smile.

"Tickets," she demanded, one hand outstretched while the other held her cell phone. Presumably, they were interrupting her texting time.

"Thanks sunshine," Dean said, grinning widely at the withering look he received.

The trio approached the purposefully ramshackle house. "Are we having fun yet?" Sam asked.

Dean rolled his eyes and charged forward, leading the way through the front door. It was commercialized Halloween heaven. Plastic, mutilated corpses lay scattered around the slightly tilted room. Some of them were animatronic and some were not, but all were more gruesome and disgusting than the last. Loud creaks, moans and screams could be heard playing over the house's sound system.

In the second room, their first costumed person jumped out, leering at the three men as they passed. Neither Winchester jumped. They were used to far more worrisome and deadly foes springing from the shadows. The next doorway stood before them and Dean turned to check on Castiel before continuing.

The Angel was standing near the actor, giving the bloodied man that non-blinking, otherworldly stare Dean always found so unnerving. This did not deter the haunted house worker however, as he moved in closer to Castiel. Dean knew the guy was hoping that an unwanted invasion of personal space would freak his new spectator out.

Unfortunately, no one was able to tell the man that he was in the presence of Castiel, the king of comfort zone violations. The fake bludgeoned actor was only a few inches away from the angel's face when Castiel abruptly cut that already small distance in half, bringing the two nose to nose. A quizzical expression graced Castiel's features as he studied the man. The staring contest lasted only moments longer. The actor crumbled under the intense gaze, obviously disconcerted by this unexpected reaction. He quickly withdrew back to whatever corner he had previously been hiding in, presumably waiting for far easier prey to come along.

"Cass, you're not the one who's supposed to be doing the scaring around here."

"That man appeared to have a grievous head wound, Dean. I believe he requires immediate attention."

Deciding it would be far easier to just move on, Dean sighed and turned. They passed through room after room and he gleefully examined every display. There was something quaint about being in among such horrendous misrepresentations of the supernatural creatures he hunted everyday. As they moved to a new section, the elder Winchester spied a troll devouring a body.

"Dude, look! They didn't even get this one close! He looks more like a rabid Yoda than a full-blooded troll. And, the guy shouldn't still have a head. Trolls decapitate now and ask questions later. Don't these people look any of this crap up?"

"You are completely demented," Sam muttered, moving off towards the next room, Castiel following close behind.

Sparing the scene one last glance, Dean followed the other two. He came to an abrupt stop as he almost ran directly into the back of Castiel. The angel was standing, head tilted, as he watched the younger Winchester brother. Dean tried his best to keep from laughing. It appeared the group had entered a circus themed room, much to Sam's dismay.

The clowns were dressed in a haphazard manner, one with unruly blue hair and the other with a rainbow mohawk. Their clothes were brightly colored mismatches of different types of patterns ranging anywhere from stripes to fluorescent paisley. At first glance, they appeared to be run of the mill clowns, but those wide red smiles had a decidedly unhinged look about them.

The two clowns, with their arms outstretched, were closing in on their quarry. Sam had been backing towards the doorway where Castiel and Dean stood, but one of his new friends cut off his escape route. It left Sam stuck in the middle of the room, circus music blaring all around them.

"Aw, Sammy, they just want a hug," Dean called, snickering.

"I'm going to kill you when we get out of here, Dean," Sam yelled. His statement ended in a high-pitched yelp as one of the clowns got a little too close for comfort.

Dean laughed as he pulled Castiel towards the next doorway, "Keep up the good work boys!"

They entered a pitch black hallway, Sam hot on their heels. "I hate clowns," he panted.

"They certainly seem to love you. I think mohawk wanted to take you home with him."

"Jerk."

"Bitch."

Castiel sighed as he walked past Sam and Dean. The two brothers followed their friend as they moved down the darkened corridor. As the group walked on, they began to feel the faint brushes of cobwebs against their skin. They swatted in front of them and at their faces in a vain attempt to capture or remove whatever it was that caused the sensation. All three were glad when the hall ran out.

The trio had barely made their way into another darkened room, when a relatively normal looking girl came screaming out at them. She made her way towards Castiel, who was still leading the way. "Help me! Please, help me!" she shrieked.

Before the angel could react, a masked man came busting in from somewhere off to the side. Laughing maniacally, he grabbed the girl and dragged her towards a large wardrobe. The girl continued to scream as her assailant threw her inside. Dean never saw Castiel move. He never even saw the angel standing near the actor. All the Winchester brothers were witness to was the man standing in front of them one minute and then laying at the angel's feet the next.

"Cass! What did you do?" Sam shouted.

"This man was attacking that girl."

"It's not real! I thought we had this fake versus real conversation. You didn't have to go and whack him with your angel mojo," Dean scolded, eyes falling on the prone actor, eyeing him warily, "What exactly did you do to him?"

"He's unconscious."

"Well, that's good. Come on, help me get slasher movie up." Dean grabbed the man under his arms and began to lift. "We should..."

The elder Winchester never got to finish his sentence. Flying across the room, Dean slammed hard into the wall. He gagged as something constricted his windpipe. It was not a crushing grip, but it was enough to get his attention. Through watery eyes, Dean could see the face of an elderly man. And, he looked pissed. A second later, the thing was gone and Dean collapsed to the floor.

Eyes wide, he glanced from Castiel to Sam. "...the hell?" Dean managed to choke out.

"Uh, I think you were attacked by a ghost. A real ghost."

"You think? The thing just went all Amittyville on my ass," Dean grunted as he pulled himself off the floor. "Let's go."

* * *

The three men sat in an office awaiting the arrival of the haunted house's manager. Dean had been all for waiting until the attraction closed, then breaking in and hunting the ghost. Sam, on the other hand, preferred a more subtle approach.

"Look, ghost geezer probably left something in the house. Maybe his teeth or hearing aid. All we have to do is find it."

"And, how do you plan to do that? We don't know who the guy is...was or anything about the house itself. The owner should know something. Besides, you're just mad that a spirit got the upper hand on the great Dean Winchester." Sam said, laughing at the pinched expression on his brother's face as Dean crossed his arms and slumped in his chair.

"I don't understand why it only attacked Dean," Castiel wondered aloud.

"It thought he was harming the actors."

The three turned around to see a tall, gangly man standing behind them, blue eyes twinkling as he smiled through a greying fu manchu.

"Hamo?" Sam asked in shock.

It had been years since they had last seen the man. Hamo Graves had been one of their Dad's old hunting buddies. He had always been an odd man and the boys remembered him fondly as a hilarious, but slightly off uncle figure.

"How the hell are you boys?" Hamo laughed as he clapped both Winchesters on the back, "And, what are you doing going through goddamned haunted house?"

"Dean..."

"Say no more Sam! That's all the explanation I need."

"Hey!" Dean cried in halfhearted indignation.

Hamo only continued to laugh as he moved behind a cluttered desk. Piles of newspapers and books were scattered across the surface. A few pieces of notepaper flew off the desk as Hamo flopped into a wore out office chair.

"So, who's your friend?"

"This is Cass."

The angel nodded at Hamo, studying him with his trademark stare. Hamo raised an eyebrow, "He's an odd duck this one."

"You have no idea," Dean mumbled. He shared a confused glance with Sam, before continuing, "You're the manager?"

"Sure! Don't I look the business type?"

"Uh, no. Are you not hunting anymore?"

"What? Me retire? Don't be be ridiculous, Sam! Of course I'm still hunting. But, this is the perfect cover. I get to have a permanent home base and I can have all the strange, occult junk I want without worrying about any...uh, unwanted attention from the authorities. They just think all my hunting gear is for the haunted house. Plus, this is one hell of a lucrative business. I make enough money off them yayhoos out there in one month to last me a whole year!"

"Well, Mr. Hunter, why do you have a freaking ghost running around?" Dean asked, "The damn thing tried to choke me to death."

"Aw, he wouldn't have killed ya. Just wanted to make a point."

Sam stared in shock at Hamo, "So...you know about him?"

"Old man Bognetti? Sure, sure. He was the haunted house's previous owner. Loved this place. I'm assuming you lot must of given one of the actors a hard time," The two brothers glared at an oblivious Castiel, who continued to study Hamo. "He protects the workers. Doesn't let anyone mess with 'em, see. That's probably why he attacked you, Dean. Thought you were threatening one of his own."

"So you just let him stay?" Sam asked.

Hamo shrugged, "Don't see why not. He's danged helpful!"

"Are you sure you're still a hunter?"

"Don't be a smart ass with me boy," Hamo said, narrowing his eyes at Dean, "Not every monster is a baddie." Dean looked away and Hamo softened, his jovial demeanor returning. "Now, tell me how you boys have been! I haven't seen you in years!"

* * *

They had spent some time reminiscing with Hamo and it was late in the evening by the time the three exited the haunted house grounds.

"Well, that was fun!" Dean said cheerfully as they made their way through the still packed parking lot.

"It was?" Castiel asked.

"You didn't think so?"

"I enjoyed your friend. He was an interesting character. However, I still do not understand the necessity of a haunted house or why you believed it to be enjoyable."

"Oh, I think tonight will provide me with some great enjoyment the rest of the year. Especially, little Sammy's run in with the clowns." Dean grinned as he slid behind the wheel of the Impala, Sam and Castiel following.

"Shut up, Dean."

"Alright, alright. You know, the night's still young, ladies. Whose up for a horror flick? I hear they're playing "Clownhouse" at the theater."

"_Shut up_, Dean."

The elder Winchester brother simply laughed as he put the Impala in drive.


End file.
